There are various companies on the market that offer real estate IDX plugins for Drupal, Joomla and WordPress. Some offer the ability to connect to an MLS data base via an API others require you to build and manage your own RETS data base. Whichever method you choose it is important to understand the pros and cons of each open source option.

Real estate IDX plugins via API

• Inexpensive solution for agents to display indexable properties on a wordpress blog
• Fast, easy and quick solution
• Not a long term solution
• Control css templates and layout
• Very little control over building custom features into the idx.  No high level  programming integration
• Same URL structure as many sites – bad for Indexable properties
• Has a template website feel

• Various products on the market – Do it yourself IDX
• Highly customizable – Build as you go
• Long term solution
• Investment of  time and technology including RETS and PHP
• Have to find the right programmers for the job
• Various components do not offer programming support
• Programmers must learn code and could take time. Process must be repeated for new programmers.
• Startup costs can range from 1,000 to 15,000.

Real estate solutions by Galtlinedesign

• Take the headache out of building your own idx. Let Galtlinedesign take over your real estate technology needs.
•  Custom build any part of your IDX at anytime
• Long term solution
• Supported IDX solution on open source cms
• Star up costs are competitive to custom template systems but much less than other custom idx services. Call for Pricing

 

Custom real estate websites are becoming more popular than ever. The days of buying a template based propitiatory idx website is coming to an end. There are many options available today and one thing is clear. Open source cms  is becoming common place in the real estate industry. Joomla, WordPress and Drupal are by far the most 3 used open source CMS systems available. Functionality can be expanded by using thousands of free and paid plugins or by partnering with a custom idx specialist.

The following is a brief summary of each cms (SEO – There are various articles on the web pertaining to which cms handles SEO the best.  As of now there is still no evidence to suggest one cms is better than another. )

Real Estate CMS 

	Drupal was started by Dries Buytaert as a community board. Release date 2001 Drupal has 7 core versions of its software. Drupal has over 8k plugins and modules Drupal has over 885 Themes CMS Crawler 66,718
	Joomla was forked from Mambo in 2005 as a closed source proprietary system. It later released as an open source cms in 2002. Release date 2005 Joomla has 6 core versions. Joomla has over 8500 plugins and modules Joomla does not have a total count but there are tons of companies providing themes CMS Crawler 356,142
	WordPress was forked from B2/cafelog and was created by Matt Mullenweg. Release date 2003 WordPress has 3 core versions WordPress has over 14, 629 plugins and extensions WordPress has over 1300 themes available. CMS Crawler 412,941

Read more on CMS systems here

The following is an interview with the creators of WordPress and Drupal. Although Joomla is not mentioned you can get an idea of why open source CMS systems are taking over the web. You will also learn that each CMS has its own strengths and weaknesses. Ready to build your open source idx, call Galtlinedesign now 714-329-5496

Future Proof your IDX Today ! Join the GALTLINE

Open Source Discussion with the Founders of Drupal and WordPress from Schipul – The Web Marketing Co. on Vimeo.

Custom IDX

Custom idx solutions are becoming more popular in the real estate industry. Many agents and brokers are turning to Galtlinedesign for an idx system that can meet the demands of the agent without breaking the bank.  Proprietary idx solutions can only do so much and when the agent reaches their potential there are no other options but to move to a new idx provider. Galtlinedesign’s custom idx framework is built on the popular Joomla platform. With thousands of addons  to chose from its no wonder why every vertical market is turning to open source cms solutions.  Imagine having thousands of developers building for your idx. Galtlinedesign offers one of the most flexible custom idx solutions on the market.  Start with one of our core system themes or build a custom idx. If you dream it up we can build it.

Advantages to Galtlinedesign’s Custom IDX solutions:

1) Open source – Download from thousands of addons -  Extension Library

2) Build 100 percent custom – You have full control over your idx and anything is attainable. Build when and what you want to meet market demands.

3) Indexable IDX -  Index thousands of community pages and properties in the leading search engines.

4) Control your property listings with core idx features that drive traffic

Learn more about custom idx solutions by calling us now: 714-329-5496

Galtlinedesign is now supporting all themes and custom layouts in the popular design layout platform Gantry. Another great reason to join the Galtline !

Key Features

• 960 Grid System and contol
• Flexable Administrator interface
• iPhone and iPod Touch custom theme support ( Other options available )
• XML driven and with overrides for unprecedented levels of customization
• Per-menu-item level control over any configuration parameter
• Preset any combination of configuration parameters, and save custom presets

• 65 base module positions. Easily add more!
• 36 possible layout combinations for mainbody and sidebars
• Up to 3 sidebars for a total of 4 column layouts
• Many built-in features such as font-sizer, to-top smooth slider, IE6 warning message, etc.
• Flexible grid layout system for unparalleled control over block sizes

Galtlinedesign is excited to announce its integration with Walk Score. Each real estate web site  created by Galtlinedesign will include the Walk Score API.

Galtlinedesign Walk Score Integration Web sites

Walk Score Ratings

Walk Score - Real Estate Websites

Over the past few months we have been asked the question do real estate template websites work ? What is a real estate template website ?  To answer these questions it is important to define template website. When referring to a template website there are two images that come to mind. Programming code that is shared and design. Websites that share common programming code to return property results can be refereed to as template websites. For example if a company is providing 10 template idx websites all ten agents share the same code that generates the property listings. In a custom idx solution the code that generates the property listings is replicated ten times. As you might imagine the custom idx solution gives an agent the most flexibility.

Some agents refer to template websites as the design of the website. It is important to understand that all websites use some form of template or theme to give the website its look. However, template websites generally have the same look and feel. Not a good idea if you plan on building a long term brand.

Do template websites work ?

It is important to understand that template websites do work as lead generators but the agents ability to add custom features and ideas is extremely limited and if not impossible. Also the companies that provide these websites are in business to replicate websites fast. Its more about quantity versus quality. Is is very common for agents to get quoted over 10k from these template companies to build a custom website. Why ? Because the foundation of their business is built to run thousands of  similar websites not custom websites.

Template websites can work but you have to understand what you are buying.

SEO – Template websites are generally wrapped or iframed into a website. Iframes and SEO is like oil and water they do not mix. Can you get an iframed website ranked ? Yes but not as easy as you can with a solution that offers indexable properties. SEO is a fixed cost so if you are going to spend the money on seo, make sure you take advantage of every available technology to help achieve your goals. Stay away from iframe and wrapped idx solutions.

Custom Built Features – Custom functionality is hard to achieve in template websites.  Due to the way template websites are built, it is almost impossible to build custom features into the idx. The template website is good for an agent who wants little or no involvement with the site, however this is generally not a good idea. Keep in mind the competition is fierce on the internet and its important to build new features that will give you a competitive advantage.

Flexibility – A template system is a spoon fed solution. Dont expect the flexibility that you will find in a custom solution. Building on open source CMS such as Joomla and WordPress can help agents achieve new functionality without the high costs of custom development.

Conclusion – Real estate agents looking for a turn key solution that can be built fast and cheap should research the  template website.  It is possible to drive leads, however without a true value proposition agents might find themselves wasting precious marketing dollars. The custom website is for those real estate agents who want the power to adopt to the the changing market and to create a unique value. This requires more input from the agent but the results can be night and day. For some a web presence might represent 1 or 2 leads per year. For others it might mean driving an entire brokerage office from the internet. Either way the internet is proving to be a great lead generating medium for real estate agents.

Galtlinedesign has launched a free valuation plugin for WordPress. It is built on Zillow’s API that allows sold homes to be returned based on a user’s address. In addition two graphs are provided showing market trends in both zip code and city. Agents have the ability to return up to 25 comparable properties and the CSS is provided allowing the agent to customize the look and feel of the plugin. You must provide your own Zillow API and Google Maps API keycode. Both are free of charge and can be found at Zillow.com & Google.com

Find out about coverage areas : Zillow Coverage Areas

Check out out Neighborhood snap shot system built into our IDX Platform: Galtlinedesign Valuation

download: Galtlinedesign_Zillow (402.02KB) added: 22/04/2010 clicks: 697 description: Galtlinedesign’s free Zillow Valuation plugin for WordPress is built on Zillow’s API that allows sold homes to be returned based on a user’s address.

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	Zillow.com, Zillow, Zestimate, and Zindex are registered trademarks or trademarks of Zillow, Inc. ©Zillow, Inc. and suppliers. Any use of Zillow tools is subject to our general Terms of Use.

Zillow Plugin created by GaltLineDesign.com

1. Open source – Built on the two leading CMS systems on the internet, Joomla and WordPress. Need any other other reasons ? Expand your system with the use of free plug-ins. There are thousands to choose from, and updating your system can be done in seconds. For Example Pubsubhubbub just releases their plug in that will let people know in real-time when your blog is updated. PubSubHubbub is quickly gaining adoption and is already being used by Google Reader, Google Alerts, FriendFeed and more.

2.  SEF URLS -  Search engine friendly urls on all properties give you the advantage of having your properties indexed in Google. Trying doing that with an iframe or wrapped idx.

3. Customization is endless – Want to add in video for each property, or implement a great idea into your property system. No problem, each system stands on its own and you have the ability to customize any part of  it. Future proof your idx !

4. No templates Allowed ! – We build and customize each layout for your needs. Want specific colors or branding for your own logo, we can get it done.

5. Turn key package with many of the popular functionality found in most idx systems and more.  If we don’t have it we can build it ! “Cant do it”  is not part of our vocabulary.

Galtlinedesign will be launching a brand new real estate idx searching plug-in for WordPress. This plugin is for agents who want to offer a simple search solution with incredible property indexing features. Great SEO abilities, simple and to the point.

The service will be offered @ 25 per month. Check back for updated information. Please contact us for more information. 714-329-5496

Service will include a basic searching interface

Pre-defined search links ins

Google Mapping

Send to friend, and request appointment.

Web development expansion – Open Source

Much more …………………

Check back for updated information